


The Coin Toss

by PurpleArrowzandLeather



Series: One Big Batty Family [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond, Son of Batman (2014), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Damian has a heart, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hero Christening, Superman doesn't know how to throw a real punch, family bonding time, he just hides it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 04:58:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17636378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleArrowzandLeather/pseuds/PurpleArrowzandLeather
Summary: Bruce Wayne is helping Terry and Billy with their training. They both have a long way to go.





	The Coin Toss

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm back to this series, and I love family time with the Waynes. Also lots of attitude from the batboys, but that's to be expected. :) Have fun!

          “Heads!” 

          Bruce ducks as Terry soars over his head, the new rockets in his boots working a little differently than he had thought they would. “Control, Terry! Stay focused or you’re going to hurt someone!” 

          “You know, I think this went better when I was Batman!” 

          “I doubt that.” 

          Jason cheers him on from down below while shooting rubber bullets at him. Terry struggles to dodge them. “Come on, Little Bat! You’re doing great!” 

          Katie also shoots at him from across the cave. “Yeah. Great. Like a limp noodle.” 

          “Hey!”  

          Dick swings by him, sending him spiraling with the added turbulence of his speeding pass. “Hi!” 

          Terry barely recovers before he hits the ground. Bruce throws a batarang at him and Terry knocks it clumsily away. “You’re relying too much on your flight!” 

          “That’s what the rockets were for, weren’t they?!” Terry yelps, Damian tackling him out of the air. Terry throws him off, but the kid does manage to land a hit on his face. “Ow!” 

          “They’re pointless if you can’t take a fall or avoid being shot down!” Jason laughs, throwing a jump line to snag his foot.  

          Damian faces him once he’s grounded, the rocket in his left boot sparking. “Or hold your own in a fight against a skilled opponent.” 

          Damian attacks, his katana sparking against Terry’s armor as he strikes. He works the poor boy back until he’s pinned against the wall with nowhere to go. He levels the point of the katana at Terry’s neck.  

          Cassandra leaps down and joins him. “Think creatively, little brother.” 

          “That’s a little difficult with my murderous adopted brother having a blade to my neck!” Terry huffs, using his one boot to lift off the ground. He gets an alert in his suit shortly after. “What the- “ 

          Barbara cackles from the Batcomputer. “What happens when someone hacks your suit?” 

          A batarang buries itself into the first layer of his armor, the glowing neon yellow center a cue-in to Duke’s presence. “There are too many of you!” 

          Barbara forces him to crash land and Tim leaps in front of him, spinning his bo staff and engaging him in combat. Terry is outmatched by a long shot. Tim is too analytical, taking in his fighting and his stance for easy weak points . He has plenty.  

          Jason laughs from where he’s now leaning against the wall. “I cannot believe Old Crone Bruce let you out on the street like this. I could fight better than this when I was _Robin_.” 

          Terry drags himself to his feet, shutting down the computer system in his suit to lock Barbara out of the system. “The old man- “ He grunts, Tim’s bo staff catching him by the leg and up-ending him. “He wasn’t exactly in the greatest shape to train me!” 

          Katie still looks to be wanting to pelt him with more rubber bullets, but she joins Jason against the wall instead. “Can you even throw a batarang without a guidance system?” 

          “It can’t be that hard!” 

          Bruce joins Tim in engaging Terry, the difference in technique confusing Terry. Tim crunches numbers in his head far faster than Bruce ever could, which makes him a better fighter in many areas. Bruce could win in a fist fight, and a few other types, but Tim is at his best when he can strike from a bit of a distance. He’s glad they’re fighting Terry, not each other. 

         “Focus, Terry!” Bruce orders.  

          “I’m trying! There’s too much going on!” 

          All the boys not presently fighting are leaning against the wall with Jason, just enjoying the fight now. Katie calls encouragement while reloading her guns. Steph appears from nowhere, throwing out a sonic disruptor by Terry’s feet. He falls, rolling away and gliding down to a lower level of the cave. Tim gives chase, Bruce dropping down shortly after. 

          “Why isn’t Billy getting this treatment?!” Terry yells. 

          "He's next." Bruce tackles him to the ground, pinning his legs and holding his arms to his chest. He puts his forearm against Terry’s throat and his son pants heavily. “You lose.” 

          “We’ve been at this for an hour.” Terry argues. “I’m exhausted.” 

          Bruce sighs. “You’ll have to fight when you’re exhausted. Trust me. You’d be naïve to think you wouldn’t.” 

          Terry’s smaller frame shakes underneath him, his energy almost completely sapped. He doesn’t fight Bruce, instead relaxing as if giving up. Bruce knows a ploy when he sees one and keeps the pressure on. Terry squeaks a little. 

          “Okay. Okay! I get it. You and your kids in your prime are twelve times the fighter that I am.” 

          Bruce grimaces. ‘There’s no need to yell. Frustration is a distraction.” 

          “You never get frustrated?” Terry growls, squirming to try to get away.  

          “Calm down. Look for a way out. Be creative, like Cassandra told you.” 

          “Bruce, I am tired. Can we give it a rest? For like ten minutes?” Terry answers, trying to get around the statement.  

           Bruce shakes his head. “Either say you give up or keep going. Those are your two options, and you’ve known them since you started. Are you ready to quit?” 

          “I don’t quit!” 

          “Then find a way out.” Bruce rumbles, his tone nearly amused. 

          Finally, Bruce seems to have drilled it into his head that he’ll need to keep fighting. He knows Terry doesn’t give up easily, but after he lost a fight to Jason within seconds in the ring… he needs real training and they all know it. 

          Terry takes a deep breath, nodding. He puts up a good fight after he manages to throw Bruce off. He accuses Bruce of letting him do it, but Bruce only smiles. Still, Bruce has him down again in only a few moments, his cheek pressed down against the hard steel flooring.  

          “All right, I give now! I give!” 

          Jason calls down to them. “The proper term is ‘Uncle!’.” 

          Terry sits up as Bruce lets his arm go, rubbing his shoulder gently. “What does that even mean?” 

          Bruce chuckles, offering him a hand. “We ask ourselves the same thing every time you say something like ‘slag’ or ‘schway’. You need to stop doing that if you’re going to fit in when we reveal you to the press.” 

          “Which will hopefully be never.” Terry says, starling as Bruce grapples up to the first level with him under his arm. 

          “Try six months or so.” Jason shrugs, grabbing Bruce’s hand to give him a little help up. “It’ll give the reporters a little time to get used to Little Bat’s presence in Gotham.” 

          “Stop calling me Little Bat. It’s Red Bat. And where I come from, I’m  _the_ Batman.” 

          Jason tugs his helmet off, glaring at Terry. “And where we come from, you don’t even exist, yet. Suck it up, kid.” 

          Terry raises his fist, but Bruce grabs his wrist. “Terry, there will be no hitting your brother unless we’re having a training exercise.” 

          “Aw, don’t worry, B. I think I could handle Mr. Schway.” 

          Terry growls trying to jerk his fist from Bruce’s grasp with no avail. Tim does not help the situation by giving out the statistical likelihood of a knock-down drag-out fight between disagreeing siblings being close to 80%. Especially of the Bat-family variety.  

          “Come on, Bruce. Let him get his anger out. You know he can’t hurt me.” 

          “I’m more worried that you’ll hurt him.” 

          “I’m standing right here!” 

          Bruce focuses a glare on the young boy. “Yes, you are. Do you know why?” 

          Terry takes a moment’s pause to think it over before his face falls. “Yes.” 

          “You can’t hit everyone who makes you angry, Terry. Least of all your big brother. He would win, and you know it. I don’t need you getting hurt over an impulsive decision.” 

          He winces, his temper cooling. “Fine.” 

          “Good. Now go take a shower and put some ice on... well, everything, I suppose.” 

          Terry nods, not looking up at any of his siblings on the way by. He does turn back after he’s most of the way there with an apology to Bruce and a begrudging one for Jason as well.  

          Jason salutes him. 

          Dick smiles at Bruce. “That was remarkably well-handled.” 

          “I learned from the best.” Bruce chuckles, patting his oldest son’s shoulder on the way by. “Billy! It’s your turn!” 

          There’s a holler of joy from the changing room and one Billy Batson leaps into his arms. “This is gonna be awesome! I get to be trained by the Batman!” 

          Dick coos. “Awww. He’s so cute and naïve.”  

          Tim chuckles, twirling his bo staff. “He’ll be thinking that for about the next five minutes.” 

          Bruce puts Billy down in the center of the room. “So, you’re sure that Zatana helped you make this safe for indoors?” 

          “Yeah. We tried it a bunch of times just to make sure.” 

          “And are you ready to become...?” 

          “Shock Bat! No, Lightning Bat! No! Magic Bat....” He looks to Dick. “Any ideas?” 

          “Well, we already helped you alter your costume to have more black to it. You still have yellow, remember?” 

          Jason snaps his fingers. “I’ve got it. Oriole.” 

          Dick’s brow furrows. “Do you go birdwatching or something?” 

          “You have your hobbies.”  

          Dick only laughs. “I like it, though. It’s very fitting.” 

          “And Constantine helped you with non-verbal spellwork?” 

          Billy nods. “He was a little weird, and I tried not to think too much about it. He did get done what you needed without drawing too much attention to me.” 

          “Bruce is good like that.” Kate drawls, leaning against her cousin with a lazy smile. “Even if he does drive me up the wall sometimes.” 

          Bruce’s expression is almost endearing as he pulls away. Barbara stares adoringly at the little boy who is about to turn into an adult man. Duke pats him on the shoulder before heading to where he plans to wait for his turn to enter the new fight. Dick pulls out his escrima sticks, twirling them in his hands as he vaults backwards.  

          Jason snorts, following behind him. “Showoff.” 

          Dick sticks his tongue out at Jason and his younger brother grabs onto it with lightning fast reflexes. He makes a disgusted noise and pushes Jason away, inducing a shoving match that Bruce has to order them to stop. 

          “Now, Billy?” Bruce says, crouching down in front of him. “When you transform, I’m going to show you how to throw a punch.” 

          He tilts his head in a way that makes Bruce want to coo at him. “But I already know how to throw a punch. Superman taught me.” 

          Jason bursts out laughing, rolling over onto his back and wheezing at the thought that Superman taught someone how to punch. Dick stares down at him with a wide smile on his face, laughing with him.  

          Billy blinks. “I don’t get it.” 

          “Billy, Superman is strong, but he has no idea how to throw a real punch. I’ve tried to tell him, but he doesn’t listen to me. I figured maybe you might. If you let me, I can help you take Superman in a fight.” 

          He practically glows. “Really? Without kryptonite?” 

          Bruce smiles softly. “Without kryptonite.” 

          “Let’s get this party started, then!” 

          Bruce steps back, allowing his son space to transform. He looks over himself, his new uniform looking similar to Duke’s, but different enough to ensure that people know the difference. Magical alterations are a lot easier with Zatana on their side. The bat on his chest is black with a yellow outline along the upper edge. Two yellow stripes go up over his shoulders and combine to travel down to the base of his spine. It reminds him a bit of Batman’s look without a cape and way more cheerful yellow.  

          “I have a new cloak for you. If you want it.” Bruce says. 

          Billy nods, not knowing what to say. Bruce had been adamant that Billy could hold onto the Shazam name if he wanted, but Billy was very certain that he wanted to be like his new siblings. He wanted a chance to feel like he belonged somewhere. He’d sort of... outgrown Shazam ever since coming to live with Bruce. He’d become more level-headed, and he was far more adaptable to new situations just in the household. 

          He’s as sure of this change now as he was the second he made it.  

          Bruce hands a folded cloak to him and Billy gently takes it from him. “It’s made of a flexible high density Kevlar. I know you don’t really need it, but I figured you could handle the weight, just in case.” 

          Billy unfolds the article, the shockingly thin piece of black Kevlar hanging down to the floor. It scrunches in his hands when he grips it, finding it softer that he expected. He slings the cloak around his shoulders and Bruce smiles. The two lightning bolts on the hood start just above his temples and zig-zag to the back of his neck where the fabric bunches for optimal comfort. The rest of the cape has thick v-shaped arrows traveling straight down the middle to where the end nearly touches the ground. 

          Billy shifts. “I love it.”  

          “The yellow goes dark in areas with little to no light, and they also cause a nasty amount of lens flare to night vision goggles.” 

          “Awesome.” Billy says reverently. 

          “Now, are you ready to learn to throw a punch?” 

          Jason starts cackling again and Dick rubs his back when he chokes. 

          Bruce sighs. “A real punch.” 

          His now-youngest son smiles lightly. “Yes, please.” 

          Bruce instructs Billy to hit him. 

          “Um, what?” 

          His adopted father only sighs and explains that he’s trying to make a point. Billy doesn’t want to hit him, and Bruce knows that, but he’s going to have to get past it. Each of his kids has had to fight him on more than one occasion. This won’t be an exception, especially if he trains Billy to fight in his natural form, which he likely will. Still, even after the breakdown of it, Billy seems hesitant. 

          “Come on, Billy! He’ll be fine!” Jason calls, waiting for the real action to begin. If he can call training his new little brother real action. 

          Bruce reassures him, too, a light smile on his face. “Everything will be fine, Billy. Trust me when I say I can take a hit. If you hold back, I’ll know it, and I’ll use it to strike back. If you miss, I will overpower you, despite your super strength.” 

          He sounds sure enough of himself for Billy to try.  

          Terry walks out of the bathroom just as Bruce flies back about twenty yards, twisting mid-air and rolling to land in a crouch. “Um... what is going on here?” 

          “We’re teaching Billy how to throw a punch.” 

          “It looks like he’s got the hang of it.” 

          Bruce shakes his head. “He really doesn’t. Sure, Superman doesn’t really know how to throw a punch either, but he does better than that.” 

          “Thanks, dad.” Billy mumbles. “That’s really encouraging.” 

          Bruce would never admit to the warmth he feels when one of his kids calls him ‘dad’, but he’s certain that they notice somehow. “Now, I’m going to tell you exactly what you did wrong.” 

          Barbara sighs. “Here we go. I’m just gonna take a nap on the table here.” 

          The boys seem to sense that it’ll take a little while as well and regroup front and center as examples. Jason squares off against Damian and Tim against Dick.  

          Bruce directs his attention to Damian first. “Damian is a small opponent, but look at the way he’s holding his fists. And if you look at Tim, he's using Dick's short range to his advantage, making sure that he can't press in too close while he picks out weaknesses. Jason is using Damian's height to his advantage too, and Dick is trying to get past the staff to disarm Tim.” 

          Katie leaps onto Damian and he rolls her off, refocusing to fight both of them at once. He’s losing to Jason, but winning against Kate.  

          Bruce faces Billy. “Your turn. I’m going to guide you through it the first time, but you’ll need to repeat hundreds of times  to make the action natural.” He winces as he hears Dick grunt when Tim’s bo staff jabs into a weak spot. “We’ll get to armed combat later.” 

          Billy nods and Bruce teaches him nice and slow how to hold himself and carry his punches out effectively. “This feels so weird.” 

          “Tell that to Superman.” 

          He laughs a little giddily. “I will _so_ be telling Superman all about this.” 

          Bruce frowns. “I think I'd actually prefer that you didn’t. Having him underestimate you is about the best weapon you’ll ever have at your disposal. You’ll only get the tell him once, and having the element of surprise will help you.” 

          “Whoa. You’re totally right.” Billy whispers, his eyes wide.  

          Bruce sighs, gesturing him forwards. “Come on. Try again.” 

          Billy comes at him and Bruce swoops to the side, tripping him up with his cape. Billy goes sprawling just as Jason pins Damian to the ground. Billy’s fall shakes the cave and Bruce grabs his arm, holding him down. He tries to use his super strength to get away, but it doesn’t work. Bruce has the high ground and a better angle. 

          “How are you doing that?” Billy grits out. 

          Damian scoffs out an answer as he kicks his big brother in the chest, sending him back into the hard metal chair in front of the Batcomputer. “It’s called superiority.”  

          Barbara startles from her nap, sitting up quickly enough to hit heR head on Jason’s. The both apologize to each other before Damian leaps on him. Jason dodges, catching the little brat by his cape and hurling him across the room.  

          “Still here!” Billy says suddenly. “You can stop watching your other kids and let me go.” 

          Bruce comes back to himself with a jolt and lets his youngest go. “Sorry.” 

          “It’s okay. It looked pretty cool.” 

          Bruce helps him up and they go again. Bruce makes it a little easier on him by promising to stay still this time and he takes the hit graciously. Bruce flies over Dick’s head as he pulls Tim’s staff up under his neck. He uses his cape to slow his descent, landing lightly on his feet. Stephanie flies by his head on a grapple, moving to fight Batwoman now that she’s given up fighting Damian. Jason has him handled. Terry is staring wide-eyed at all of his siblings (or other) as they fight. 

          Bruce looks to Billy. “That was good, but you held back.” 

          “I don’t want to hurt you.” 

          Duke laughs as he jumps on Terry from behind, ruffling his hair. “You can’t, Billy. He’s the Batman.” 

          “Right.” 

          Bruce tells Billy to try again, his movements fluid as he dodges his charging son. He catches Damian as he topples from the edge of the upper tier, Jason apologizing from where he’s standing above them. He dares Damian to come get him, Bruce putting Damian down so they can continue their match. He senses movement just behind him and rolls out of the way of Billy’s fist. 

          “Whoa!”  

          Bruce catches the front of his costume to keep him from falling and Billy grins at him. “Thanks, Bat-dad.” 

          Harper lands on Jason’s shoulders from wherever she disappeared to after Terry’s round was over, knocking him backwards and latching onto his chest with a bear hug. Jason only chuckles, patting her back and warning her that Damian is coming for them. She doesn’t seem to mind.  

          Bruce keeps Billy practicing for the next hour, and he’s as exhausted as Terry had been, much to his surprise. Terry had been content to watch throughout the whole thing, having just showered and done exactly as Bruce had told him to do.  

          When Billy thinks he’s ready for an actual sparring match, Bruce thinks he’ll put him against Dick first. He won’t be afraid to fight him, but he’ll also point out things he should fix during the fight. Billy relies, a lot like Terry, a bit too much on his flight capabilities.  

          Still, he’s proud of them both, though Terry’s temper could still use a little work.  

          He takes it back when he hears Damian spitting curses out at Jason in Arabic, none on them very pretty. Jason growls out a command in Arabic and Damian’s spine straightens, his eyes narrowing. It takes him a moment to recover from the conditioning that Talia must have beaten into his skull.  

          Damian hisses out one last reply before heading to the changing room.  

          Terry gives Bruce a look. “And you think I’m bad?” 

          “None of you are bad.” Bruce sighs. “Some of you just require a little different handling, that’s all.” He calls Jason down from the top of the stairs and he flips over the railing.  

          “Yeah?” 

          “You know better than to antagonize Damian like that.” 

          Jason rolls his eyes. “He was acting like a brat and he deserved it.” 

          Bruce glances around at the many eyes watching them before sighing. “Everybody, go change.” 

          For once, everyone listens to him and clears out, leaving him and Jason standing alone by the Batcomputer. Jason looks mildly impressed. He pulls his helmet off and Bruce ruffles his hair the first chance he gets. Jason swats at his hand, but he seems amused more than irritated. Bruce smiles before sobering.  

          “You know how he reacts to everything, Jason. One of you could easily hurt the other, and I don’t want that to be your relationship.” 

          Jason huffs. “If the kid wasn’t so obsessed with his breeding, maybe he wouldn’t be so inclined to fight with us. He’s convinced himself that he’s your only real son.” 

          “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him too, but I just wanted you to know that I don’t see you as anything less than my son. You all are, and it’s probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.” 

          Jason’s breath catches, but he nods, a pleased gleam in his eyes. Bruce pats his shoulder and tells him to go get changed with everyone else. He calls for Damian and the boy joins him at a leisurely pace. He stares up at Bruce, eyes unwavering. Waiting. He isn't patient enough to wait for long.

          “I understand that you did not approve of the way I spoke to Todd.”  

          “Damian, you can’t assume that you can’t hurt your brothers with words. You are very smart, but you don’t realize just how important you are to this family.” 

          “As your only blood son-” 

          “Damian, I’m going to stop you there. Your brothers...” Damian opens his mouth to object to the term, even though he hadn’t the first time. “ _Your brothers_  are just as important to me as you are. Blood or no. Adopted or biological.” He pauses, taking a breath. “It doesn’t mean I love you any less, Damian. You are my son just as much as Dick or Jason, or any of the others.” 

          “But I-” 

          Bruce crouches down, still surprised by how short his son is despite it nearly being about time for a growth spurt. “Damian, you are not my only child. I love you so much, but you have to realize that. These people aren’t just kids I took pity on.” 

          Damian looks angry that Dick had shared their conversation with Bruce. 

          “They’re my family. Yours too, if you’ll let them.” 

          Damian seems to debate that, glancing down at the ground. “I was always taught that blood is superior.” 

          “That’s not the way real life works.” 

          Damian’s brow furrows and he lowly growls his answer. “You didn’t grow up with wealth because of your blood?” 

          “I did, but most of the rest of your siblings didn’t.” He sighs, putting his hands on Damian’s shoulders. “I want you to grow up happy, Damian. To have a real childhood.” 

          “I am already well past the level of such useless activity and do not require happiness to ensure my growth into adulthood. Happiness is a distraction.” 

          Bruce knows Damian well enough by now to know his son doesn’t believe that. “This isn’t the League, Damian. We care about your well-being, not just your training.” 

          “Who’s ‘we’? Todd certainly doesn’t seem to care. Nor does Drake.” 

          “Jason has a certain... temperament, just like you. They’re just different enough for you two to butt heads. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. And you did try to kill Tim, multiple times. I know that you’re unsure of your place here because of Talia, but-” 

          “It’s not Talia.” 

          Bruce tilts his head, pausing for a moment before deciding to ask what is bothering him. “Then what is it?” 

          Damian goes quiet, looking a little uncomfortable. Bruce lifts his chin as his eyes trace the lines on the floor, promising Damian that he can always talk to him is he needs something.  

          “You didn’t-” He trails off, shaking his head. 

          “What?” 

          “You didn’t  _choose_  me. You adopted Richard and Todd, and the others, but mother _gave_ me to you. You have an obligation to care for me at mother’s request.” 

          Bruce stops to think that over. 

          “You said you love me, but how… but how do I… how _can_ I believe-” he halts those words before they can finish out his train of thought. 

          “How can you what?” 

          “ _How can I know that you want me?_ ” 

          “Damian.” Bruce says softly, wiping a couple tears from Damian’s face as they slip out. “I will never not want you.” 

          “If you had a choice, would you? If it was back when we met and mother wasn’t trying to pass me off, would you still have taken me?” 

          “I would fight the whole of the League for you. All of you. I promise, Damian.” 

          “Would you have fought my mother for me?” Damian whispers, leaning forwards to lean against Bruce’s chest. 

          Bruce cards his fingers through the boy’s hair, quieting him. “Ra’s al Ghul himself couldn’t have stopped me. I love you, Damian. Blood or not.” 

          Damian’s arms snake around Bruce’s chest and cling to his cape. Bruce picks him up, letting Damian curls around him as he sees fit while he cries. The last time he’d seen Damian this unsure of himself, he went to Tibet.  

          “You aren’t going to leave again, are you?” 

          “Decidedly not.” He chokes out, burying his face in Bruce’s shoulder.  

          “Good. I want you here, Damian. Every day that you’ll give me.” He smiles into the silence around him, only putting Damian down when he’s exhausted himself.  

          He bids his father goodnight and Bruce treads to the changing room. 

          His Children and Co. are standing around, looking anywhere but him. He chuckles. “For all of you listening in, that goes for you too.” 

          He expects Dick’s reaction to be of the hug variety, but he doesn’t anticipate getting one from each of his brood as they leave. Even Kate seems happy enough to give him a hug, though she does whisper out a ‘Good job, cuz’ as she leaves. Jason’s hug is warm, and Bruce will likely be riding the feeling for the next year. Terry’s is cautious, still unsure as to whether or not he’s welcome despite the short notice adoption. Tim’s is a little robotic, as he’s tired, but not enough to not whisper that he loves him, too. Dick’s is stifling when he squeezes Bruce as hard as he can. 

          Barbara’s hug is friendly, her right hand patting his shoulder as she wheels by. Cassandra’s hug is endearing as she stands up on her tip-toes to reach her arms up over his shoulders. Bruce stoops to let her. Harper’s embrace is tight, skinny arms squeezing him as hard as she can. Duke’s is reassuring, seeing as he’s kind of an unofficial member, but he still cares enough to show it.  

          Billy is still admiring himself in the mirror. “Do you really think I can do this, Bruce?” 

          “I believe you can do anything you put your mind to.” 

          He transforms into the boy Bruce has come to call his son, even if he’s also his co-worker in the Justice League. He had thought, at first, that it might put pressure on their relationship, but Billy seems content to be a son instead of an adult.  

          Billy’s laugh is bright as he jumps on Bruce. He gives the boy a hearty squeeze before putting him down. 

          “We love you too, Bruce. Even if some of us won’t say it.” 

          “I know. Now go to bed. You have school in the morning.” 

          Billy scampers off and Bruce shakes his head with a smile. He may have started this crusade alone, but he has so much family now, it’s hard to remember what that was like. He doesn’t really want to.  

          He wouldn’t give his family up for anything in the world. 

**Author's Note:**

> :) Have a wonderful day!


End file.
